One previously known way of mounting a hood to a frame and cab of a truck is to utilize a four-point hood mounting system. Such systems are typically used on class 7 and 8 trucks, resulting in a cab-to-hood gap of approximately 25 mm. Such a large amount of hood-to-cowl spacing is required in order to accommodate up to approximately 22 mm of travel between the cab and frame due to deflection and other factors with a typical fully-loaded chassis.
Air cab suspensions are typically included on modern trucks to produce an improved ride for the driver. Usually, the air cab suspension is mounted at the back of the cab and the cab pivots about a pivot axis near the front of the cab. The pivotal action of the cab occurs with respect to the vehicle frame. Movement of the cab relative to the frame causes the cowl to move fore and aft considerably in response to articulation of the suspension. As a result of this fore-and-aft bucking action, an undesirable, large clearance gap is required between the back edge of the hood and the front edge of the cab.
A typical four-point mounting system has two hinges mounted at the front corners of the hood. The hinges allow rotation of the hood relative to the frame or chassis when opening and closing the hood. The rear of the hood is supported on pads located at the rear corners of the hood. The pads align the vertical position of the hood with the adjacent cab surfaces in a closed operating position. The pads also allow fore and aft translation of the hood relative to the cab to accommodate cab and frame deflection, particularly when the cab has a suspension system.
Another previously known way of mounting a hood to a frame and cab of a truck is to utilize an alternative four-point mounting system. According to this construction, the mounting system has a pair of front hinges and a pair of rear elastomeric guide pins that align the hood with the cab in a desired operating position. Such a rear hood support system induces forces into the hood as the cab and hood try to move relative to each other. This loading can result in excessive loading on the hood and failure in extreme cases. It also has a negative impact on the cab ride due to restriction of the cab suspension.
Prior art truck hood mounting systems also have not provided adequate ease of use with regard to opening and closing the hood. It is desirable to provide relatively low force requirements for both opening and closing the hood. It is also desirable to have some ability to maintain an open hood in the opened position.
Thus, there has remained a need for trucks having an improved hood and cab mounting system.